This week we interview the super talented Chantel Dartnall of Restaurant Mosaic in Pretoria, and get excited about the inclusion of no less than five South African restaurants on the world's top-100 list!
	Five SA restaurants on world's top-100 list
	Chef's profile: Chantel Dartnall
	Credit crunch at Karma
	Remember to vote for your favourite seafood restaurant!
Another long weekend - perfect for eating out of town. Here are some of our suggestions: Meander the Midlands: Caversham Mill Hartford House Cooking Bear Head to Mpumalanga: Blue Mountain Lodge 2 Chefs Bistro The Three Twigs Explore the Overberg: Heaven Mariana's Dassiesfontein

I might have mentioned this before, but I do love a creamy dessert and this week I had my fair share of panna cotta, crème caramel and crème brûlée (my favourite three) - all with just the right wobble and sheer silkiness.

My very first - and most memorable - panna cotta came in little tubs called Angel’s Delight from Marks & Spencer (UK), which I ate sitting in a cobbled lane in Windsor. I still remember the sublime taste of the bottom raspberry layer mingling with the milky pudding on my spoon.

But now for the grown-up version. Last Saturday night at Nova I was delighted to eat the best-ever panna cotta. Chef Richard Carstens carefully crafted a mousse-like texture, artfully decorated with tiny balls of melon and berry sorbet, blobs of lemon curd and thin shavings of fruit leather (which is very tart but tastes so good with a rich dessert).

I have to confess I just couldn’t choose a favourite from the next two! The panna cotta at Il Leone came ice cold with a little berry coulis on the side, packed with vanilla and just the right amount of gelatine. And chef Laurent Deslandes from Bizerca served a quince version of crème caramel with creamed chestnuts… So French. The quince gave it a more substantial texture than usual, which was perfect for me. My son ordered the crème brûlée and that was the crème de la crème - not too hard, not too soft, not too sugary and with the perfect crack.

Happy eating

Abigail
Eat Out Editor